Method and system for mimo transmission in a distributed transceiver network

ABSTRACT

A transmitting device comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers, a baseband processor and a network management engine. Data streams are generated at baseband by the baseband processor. Diversity coding such as space-time coding may be performed over the generated data streams in the baseband. The transmitting device concurrently transmits each of the coded streams in a same radio frequency (RF) band to a receiving device over the entire distributed transceivers through associated antennas. When needed, the network management engine may identify one or more auxiliary devices providing available transceivers and antenna beamformers to the transmitting device for sharing. Beam patterns and antenna orientations may be determined for associated antennas of the available transceivers for the transmitting device. Each of the coded data streams in the same radio frequency band may be transmitted to the receiving device over the entire available transceivers for the transmitting device through the associated antennas.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/548,201 filed on Oct. 17, 2011.

This application makes reference to:

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25066US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25067US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25068US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25069US02) filedon May 16, 2012;

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25070US02) filedon May 16, 2012; and

U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 25072US02) filedon May 16, 2012.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to signal processing forcommunication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of theinvention relate to a method and system for MIMO transmission in adistributed transceiver network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Millimeter Wave (mmWave) devices are being utilized for high throughputwireless communications at very high carrier frequencies. There areseveral standards bodies such as, for example, 60 GHz wireless standard,WirelessHD, WiGig, and WiFi IEEE 802.11ad that utilize high frequenciessuch as the 60 GHz frequency spectrum for high throughput wirelesscommunications. In the US, the 60 GHz spectrum band may be used forunlicensed short range data links such as data links within a range of1.7 km, with data throughputs up to 6 Gbits/s. These higher frequenciesmay provide smaller wavelengths and enable the use of small high gainantennas. However, these higher frequencies may experience highpropagation loss.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method and/or system for MIMO transmission in a distributedtransceiver network, substantially as shown in and/or described inconnection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat utilizes transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission in acentralized managed distributed transceiver network, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wheretransmit beamforming is performed at a transmitter with a collection ofdistributed transceivers for MIMO transmission to one receiving device,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary transceiver modulethat performs transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission to onereceiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a startopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a ringtopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with aconfigurable antenna array, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by atransmitting device for transmit beamforming in MIMO transmission to onereceiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) transmission in a distributedtransceiver network. In accordance with various exemplary embodiments ofthe invention, a transmitting device in a network comprises a pluralityof distributed transceivers, a central baseband processor and a networkmanagement engine. The central baseband processor may generate datastreams at baseband. Diversity coding such as, for example, space-timecoding, space-time-frequency coding, orthogonal space-time coding,spatial multiplexing, or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) coding may beperformed over the generated data streams at baseband. The transmittingdevice may concurrently transmit each of the coded streams in a sameradio frequency (RF) band to a receiving device over the distributedtransceivers through associated antennas. The coded data streams in thebaseband may be initially converted into different correspondingintermediate frequency (IF) bands and may be further converted into thesame RF band for transmission. The network management engine maydetermine corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations in thesame RF band for the associated antennas of the distributed transceiversof the transmitting device. The coded streams in the same RF band may beconcurrently transmitted to the receiving device over the distributedtransceivers through associated antennas with the determinedcorresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations. When needed, thenetwork management engine may identify auxiliary devices that mayprovide transceivers and antenna beamformers to the transmitting devicefor sharing. Beam patterns and antenna orientations may be determinedfor associated antennas of both the distributed transceivers of thetransmitting device and the shared transceivers of the auxiliarydevices. Each of the coded data streams in the same radio frequency bandmay be transmitted to the receiving device over the entire collection ofthe available transceivers for the transmitting device utilizing thedetermined corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations for theassociated antennas.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat utilizes transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission in acentralized managed distributed transceiver network, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown acommunication network 100 comprising a plurality of application devices,of which application devices 111-119 are displayed.

The application devices 111-119 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to communicate voice anddata with one to another over wired and/or wireless connections. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the application devices111-119 in the communication network 100 may comprise one or moredistributed transceivers (DTs) for communication in the communicationnetwork 100. For example, distributed transceivers 111 a through 119 amay be integrated in the application devices 111 through 119,respectively, and utilized for receiving and transmitting signals. Eachdistributed transceiver may be equipped with an independentlyconfigurable antenna or antenna array that is operable to transmit andreceive signals over the air. For example, the distributed transceivers111 a each may be equipped with an independently configurable antennaarray 111 b, and the distributed transceiver 118 a, however, may beequipped with a single independently configurable antenna 118 b totransmit and receive signals over the air. Depending on devicecapabilities and user preferences, distributed transceivers such as thedistributed transceivers 111 a within the application device 111 maycomprise radios such as, for example, a millimeter Wave (mmWave) radio,a WLAN radio, a WiMax radio, a Bluetooth radio, a Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) radio, cellular radios, or other types of radios. In this regard,radios such as mmWave radios may be utilized at very high carrierfrequencies for high throughput wireless communications.

In an exemplary operation, the distributed transceivers 111 a through119 a in the communication network 100 are physically positioned andoriented at different locations within corresponding application devicessuch like laptop, TV, gateway and/or set-top box. The distributedtransceivers 111 a through 119 a may be centrally managed by a singlenetwork management engine (NME) 120 of the communication network 100. Inan exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network management engine120 may reside within a specific application device in the communicationnetwork 100. The network management engine 120 may be centralized as afull software implementation on a separate network microprocessor, forexample. An application device in the communication network 100 may actor function as a master application device or an end-user applicationdevice. An application device that comprises the network managementengine 120 and/or may have access to manage or control the networkmanagement engine 120 to dynamically configure and manage operation ofthe entire distributed transceivers in the communication network 100 isreferred to a master application device. An application device that doesnot comprise the network management engine 120 and/or may have no accessto manage or control the network management engine 120 is referred to asan end-user application device.

In some instances, the application device 111 acts as a masterapplication device in the communication network 100. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the network management engine 120 in themaster application device 111 may be utilized to configure, control, andmanage the entire distributed transceivers 111 a through 119 a in thecommunication network 100 to optimize network performance. Theapplication devices 111-119 each may operate in a transmission mode orin a receiving mode. In instances where the master application device111 is transmitting multimedia information such as, for example, images,video, voice, as well as any other form of data to one or more receivingdevices such as, for example, the end-user application devices 112-116,the distributed transceivers 111 a of the master application device 111may be managed to transmit data streams to the end-user applicationdevices 112-116 utilizing various transmission schemes such as, forexample, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) transmission. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, transmit beamforming may beutilized by the distributed transceivers 111 a for MIMO transmission. Inthis regard, each of the data streams may be concurrently transmitted ina same RF band over the full collection of the distributed transceivers111 a of the master application device 111 to a single intendedreceiving device such as the end-user application device 112.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the network managementengine 120 in the master application device 111 may be enabled tomonitor and collect corresponding communication environment informationor characteristics from the end-user application devices 112-116. Thecollected communication environment information may comprise, forexample, propagation environment conditions, link quality, devicecapabilities, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, antenna spacing,array geometry, device locations, target throughput, and/or applicationQoS requirements reported. The network management engine 120 may beoperable to dynamically configure the distributed transceivers 111 a-116a and associated antennas or antenna arrays 111 b-116 b, and tocoordinate and manage the operation of the distributed transceivers 111a-116 a and associated antennas or antenna arrays 111 b-116 b based onthe collected communication environment information.

In the collected communication environment information, the link qualitymay comprise signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) at different transceivers,and/or signal-to-leakage-noise ratios (SLNR) at different devices andtransceivers. The application device capabilities may comprise, forexample, battery life, a number of transceivers, a number of antennasper transceiver, antenna beamformers, device interface types, processingprotocols, service types, service classes and/or service requirements.The interface types for the application devices 111-119 may compriseaccess interface types such as, for example, Multimedia over CoaxAlliance (MoCa), WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, Femtocell, and/or cordless.The processing protocols may comprise service layer protocols, IP layerprotocols and link layer protocols, as specified, for example, in theOpen Systems Interconnect (OSI) model. The service layer protocols maycomprise, for example, secure protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer(SSL) and control protocols such as Spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The IPlayer protocols may comprise IP signaling protocols such as, forexample, SIP and H.323, and IP media transport protocols such as, forexample, TCP, UDP, RTP, RTC and RTCP. The link layer protocols maycomprise technology-specific PHY and MAC layer protocols such as, forexample, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCa), WiFi, Ethernet,Femtocell, and/or cordless.

Although communication among the application devices 111-119 with one ormore distributed transceivers is illustrated in FIG. 1, the inventionmay not be so limited. Accordingly, an application device may beoperable to utilize one or more associated distributed transceivers tocommunicate with one or more application devices with normaltransceivers (non-distributed transceivers) without departing from thespirit and scope of various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary usage scenario wheretransmit beamforming is performed at a transmitter with a collection ofdistributed transceivers for MIMO transmission to one receiving device,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2,there is shown a master application device 210 and end-user applicationdevices 220 and 250.

The master application device 210 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicatemultimedia information such as, for example, images, video, voice, aswell as any other forms of data with one or more application devicessuch as the end-user application device 220. The master applicationdevice 210 may comprise a collection of distributed transceivers 212 athrough 212 e, and a central processor 217 that comprises a centralbaseband processor 214, a network management engine 216 and a memory218. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the collectionof distributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e may be physicallypositioned and oriented at different locations within an applicationdevice such as, for example, a laptop, TV, gateway, and set-top box. Inthis regard, the collection of distributed transceivers 212 a through212 e may be implemented in various ways such as, for example, a singledistributed transceiver integrated in a single chip package; multiplesilicon dies on one single chip; and multiple distributed transceiverson a single silicon die. Depending on device capabilities and userpreferences, the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e may be oriented ina fixed direction or multiple different directions. In another exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the collection of distributed transceivers212 a-212 e may be operable to receive and/or transmit radio frequencysignals from and/or to the end-user application device 220 using airinterface protocols specified in UMTS, GSM, LTE, WLAN, 60 GHz/mmWave,and/or WiMAX, for example.

The central baseband processor 214 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performbaseband digital signal processing needed for transmission and receivingoperation of the entire collection of distributed transceivers 212 athrough 212 e. For example, the central baseband processor 214 may beoperable to perform waveform generation, equalization, and/or packetprocessing associated with the operation of the collection ofdistributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e. In addition, the centralbaseband processor 214 may be operable to configure, manage and controlorientations of the distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, during MIMO transmission toa receiving device such as the end-user application device 220, thecentral baseband processor 214 of the master application device 210 maygenerate data streams in a baseband such as a cellular baseband. Thecentral baseband processor 214 may initially convert the data streams inthe baseband into corresponding different IF bands. The data streams inthe different IF bands may be further converted into a same RF band fortransmission over the air. In this regard, the data streams in the sameRF band may be transmit processed through transmit beamforming, forexample, such that each of the data streams in the same RF band may beconcurrently transmitted over the full collection of the distributedtransceivers 212 a-212 e of the master application device 210 to thesingle end-user application device 220. In this scenario, each fulltransceiver 212 a-212 e may act or function as a path of MIMO coding (inthis example, forming a MIMO system with 5 transmitter paths). However,unlike traditional MIMO system, there is an additional degree ofprogrammability in this distributed system. In a traditional MIMOsystem, each branch/antenna/path in transmitter/receiver has anomnidirectional profile. In this system disclosed in the presentinvention, each path in transmit/receive chain may be configured throughits beamforming weights to result in a different pattern. In this modeof operation, the overall system comprises two layers of programming andcoding design. The first level involves the MIMO coding design, assuming5 transmit paths 212 a-212 e are available. The second level involvesbeamforming weights for the 5 antenna arrays within 212 a-212 etransceivers. In some embodiments of the invention, the above two levelsof programming may be decoupled and designed independently (for ease ofimplementation and processing). In this case, the MIMO coding andwaveforms may be generated assuming the 5 paths have omnidirectionalresponse (enabling reuse of existing MIMO waveforms and codes). In otherembodiments of the invention, these two levels of design/configurationsare conducted jointly for a more globally optimal configuration. Forexample, if an orthogonal space-time block-code (OSTBC) is used as theMIMO coding, the beamforming patterns of 212 a-212 e are configured suchthat the effective propagation responses seen by the equivalent MIMOsystem are as much uncorrelated as possible, hence increasing OSTBCcode's performance.

The network management engine 216 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to monitor andcollect communication environment information such as, for example,propagation environment conditions, link quality, application devicecapabilities, antenna polarization, radiation pattern, antenna spacing,array geometry, transmitter/receiver locations, target throughput,and/or application QoS requirements. The network management engine 216may utilize the collected communication environment information toconfigure system, network and communication environment conditions asneeded. For example, the network management engine 216 may be operableto perform high level system configurations such as, for example, thenumber of transceivers that are activated, the number of applicationdevices that are being communicated with, adding/dropping applicationdevices to the communication network 100. As shown in FIG. 2, thenetwork management engine 216 is residing in the master applicationdevice 210. However, in some embodiments the network management engine216 may reside on different network devices such as, for example,separate network microprocessors and servers on the communicationnetwork 100. The network management engine 216 may comprise a fullsoftware implementation, for example. In addition, the functionality ofthe network management engine 216 may be distributed over severaldevices in the communication network 100. In some embodiments thenetwork management engine 216 may be operable to manage communicationsessions over the communication network 100. In this regard, the networkmanagement engine 216 may be operable to coordinate operation ofbaseband processors in the communication network 100 such that variousbaseband processing may be split or shared among the basebandprocessors. For example, the network management engine 216 may enablemultiple central baseband processors such as, for example, the centralbaseband processor 214 and the central baseband processor 226 forparallel baseband processing in order to increase throughput if needed.

In some embodiments of the invention, a single device, the masterapplication device 210, the end-user application device 220, or theend-user application device 250, for example, may be configured todeploy a number of baseband processors to implement the system and dataprocessing requirements/demands. For example, several basebandprocessors may be deployed within the single device to generate and/ordecode different data streams transmitted/received by severaldistributed transceivers. In this configuration, the network managementengine 216 may also be operable to control and coordinate the operationof the multiple baseband processors within the single device. In thisregard, several internal connection topologies may be used orimplemented. In some embodiments of the invention, each basebandprocessor in the single device may be dedicated to a subset ofdistributed transceivers and either ring/star topologies may be used. Inthis case, there may be no data transfer between the subsets ofdistributed transceivers. In another embodiment of the invention, theentire baseband processors and distributed transceivers within thesingle device may be connected together through a ring topology (using asingle cable). In this case, the baseband processors within the singledevice may be coordinated to share the cable by time-multiplexed at thesame IF frequency or frequency-multiplexed at different IF frequenciesmethods. The baseband processors within the single device may havedifferent power/processing/communication characteristics. In someembodiments of the invention, one or more baseband processors that aremost suitable for a mode of operation (e.g., lower power consumptionmeeting the throughput requirement) may be activated and other basebandprocessors may be disabled for power saving.

The memory 218 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store information such as, for example,executable instructions and data that may be utilized by the centralbaseband processor 214 and/or other associated component units such asthe network management engine 216. The memory 218 may comprise RAM, ROM,low latency nonvolatile memory such as, for example, flash memory and/orother suitable electronic data storage.

End-user application devices such as the end-user application device 220may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that maybe operable to communicate multimedia information such as, for example,images, video, voice, as well as any other forms of data with one ormore application devices such as the master application device 210. Theend-user application device 220 may comprise transceivers 222 through224, and a central baseband processor 226, and a memory 228. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, each of the transceivers 222through 224 may be a normal transceiver (non-distributed transceivers)or a distributed transceiver. The transceivers 222 through 224 may beequipped with antenna arrays 222 a-222 m, and 224 a-224 n, respectively.Depending on device capabilities and user preferences, the transceivers222 through 224 may be oriented in a fixed direction or multipledifferent directions. The transceivers 222 through 224 may be operableto receive and/or transmit radio frequency signals from and/or to themaster application device 210 using air interface protocols specified inUMTS, GSM, LTE, WLAN, 60 GHz/mmWave, and/or WiMAX, for example. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, the end-user application device220 may receive a data stream that may be concurrently transmitted bythe master application device 210 over the full collection of associateddistributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e.

The central baseband processor 226 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to performbaseband digital signal processing needed for transmission and receivingoperation of the entire collection of transceivers 222 through 224. Forexample, the central baseband processor 226 may be operable to performwaveform generation, equalization, and/or packet processing associatedwith the operation of the transceivers 222 through 224. In addition, thecentral baseband processor 226 may be instructed or signaled by thenetwork management engine 216 to configure, manage and controlorientations of the transceivers 222 through 224.

The memory 228 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/orcode that may be operable to store information such as, for example,executable instructions and data that may be utilized by the centralbaseband processor 226 and/or other associated component units such as,for example, weight coefficients for the antenna arrays 222 a-222 m, and224 a-224 n. The memory 228 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latencynonvolatile memory such as, for example, flash memory and/or othersuitable electronic data storage.

In an exemplary operation, a wireless link may be established betweenthe master application device 210 and the end-user application device220 through a reflector 230. U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (AttorneyDocket No. 25066US02), which is filed on even date herewith disclosesone or more reflectors that may be used to transmit one data stream ormultiple data streams, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

The master application device 210 may communicate multimedia informationsuch as, for example, images, video, voice, as well as any other form ofdata with the end-user application device 220 utilizing the wirelesslink. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the masterapplication device 210 may transmit the multimedia information to theend-user application device 220 utilizing MIMO transmission. In thisregard, the central baseband processor 214 may be operable to generate aplurality of data streams in a baseband such as a cellular baseband. Thecentral baseband processor 214 may encode the data streams in thebaseband utilizing various diversity coding algorithms such as, forexample, space-time coding or space-time-frequency coding. The codeddata streams in the baseband may be initially converted into differentcorresponding IF bands and then may be further up-converted to the sameradio frequency (RF) band. The central baseband processor 214 may beconfigured to enable transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission suchthat each of the coded data stream in the same RF band may beconcurrently transmitted at different directions or orientations overthe full collection of distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e of themaster application device 210 to the single end-user application device220.

During the MIMO transmission, the master application device 210 maycontinuously monitor and collect corresponding communication environmentinformation such as, for example, propagation environment conditions,link quality, device capabilities, locations, target throughput, and/orapplication QoS requirements reported from the end-user applicationdevice 220. In this regard, a feedback channel 240 may be utilized toexchange and negotiate system configurations such as, for example,number of transceivers within devices, number of antennas pertransceivers, antenna beamformers, the measured channel responses, thesequence of antenna array coefficients being evaluated, and/or devicelocation.

The network management engine 216 may dynamically configure, coordinateand manage the transceivers 212 a-212 e, 222, and 224, and associatedantennas or antenna arrays based on the collected correspondingcommunication environment information supplied from the end-userapplication device 220. For example, in instances where the masterapplication device 210 does not have enough communication capabilities,for example, a number of transceivers and beamformers, to support theMIMO transmission, the network management engine 216 may be operable toidentify one or more auxiliary devices that may provide availablecommunication capacity to the master application device 210 for sharing.For example, in some instances the end-user application device 250 maybe selected by the network management engine 216 as an auxiliary devicefor the master application device 210. Once the end-user applicationdevice 250 agrees to share the associated antennas 252 a-252 p, forexample, with the master application device 210, the network managementengine 216 may coordinate and configure the full collection of thetransceivers 212 a-212 e of the master application device 210 and theauxiliary transceiver 252 of the auxiliary end-user application device250 forming an extended MIMO system at the master application device210. In this regard, the network management engine 216 and the centralbaseband processor 214 may enable transmit beamforming over the fullcollection of the transceivers 212 a-212 e and 252 in the extended MIMOsystem at the master application device 210. Each coded data stream maybe concurrently transmitted at different directions or orientations overthe full collection of the available transceivers 212 a-212 e and 252through associated antennas in the same RF band to the single end-userapplication device 220.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that illustrates an exemplary transceiver modulethat performs transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission to onereceiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a transceiver 300 comprising anantenna array 310, an antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320,down-converters 330, up-converters 340, and a multiplexer 350.

In an exemplary operation, the antenna array 310 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable totransmit and receive radio frequency (RF) signals over the air. Forreception, the transceiver 300 may pass a receive signal from theantenna array 310 after down-conversion to the central basebandprocessor 214. For transmission the transceiver 300 may be operable toreceive transmit signals or data streams from the central basebandprocessor 214.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the transmit data streamsmay be provided from the central baseband processor 214 by encodingcorresponding baseband data streams utilizing space-time coding orspace-time-frequency coding. The central baseband processor 214 mayinitially convert the coded data streams in the baseband to differentcorresponding IF bands. The transmit data streams in the differentcorresponding IF bands may be fed into the up-converters 340. Theup-converters 340 may be operable to convert the transmit data streamsin different IF bands to the antenna array 310 in a same RF band fortransmission over the air. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,antennas 310 a-310 m of the antenna array 310 may be arranged atdifferent directions or orientations based on correspondingcommunication environment information. The central baseband processor214 may perform transmit beamforming such that each of the transmit datastreams may be concurrently transmitted in the same RF band over theantennas 310 a-310 m to the single end-user application device 220.

In some embodiments of the invention, the device 210 may be configuredto implement a two-layer beamforming scheme as a special case of MIMOprocessing. In this regard, assume that the distributed transceivers 212a-212 e may be configured to certain beam patterns. The central basebandprocessor 214 then considers each transceiver as a single antenna informing a second layer of beamforming. For example, the basebandprocessor 214 and the NME 216 may formulate a standard beamformingproblem with 5 available antennas, that is, the distributed transceivers212 a-212 e may be treated as an equivalent antenna. The equivalentpropagation channel responses corresponding to each transceiver may bemeasured and collected by the NME 216. Then, the system configurationbecomes equivalent to a 5-antenna beamforming system where the channelresponses of each antenna is available to the system. Existingbeamforming algorithms such as maximal-ratio-combining (MRC),eigenvalue-decomposition (EVD), and singular-value-decomposition (SVD)methods may be used to derive the complex weighting factors used by thebaseband processor 214 for scaling the signals delivered to eachtransceiver.

The multiplexer 350 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfacesand/or code that may be operable to multiplex the transmit signalreceived from the central baseband processor 214 and the receive signalsupplied from the antenna array 310. In this regard, the multiplexer 350may utilize either time-division-multiplexing orfrequency-domain-multiplexing to communicate the transmit signal and thereceive signal over the same medium such as a cable.

The antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto scale and/or phase-shift signals before the down-converters 330and/or signals after the up-converters 340. For example, in transmissionoperation the signal provided by the up-converters 340 may bephase-shifted by the shifter by different values. The resultingphase-shifted signals may be fed to different antenna elements withinthe antenna array 310. In another embodiment of the invention, theantenna array 310 may be oriented in a fixed direction or multipledifferent directions depending on antenna types and user preferences.For example, the antenna array 310 may be implemented as a fixeddirectional antenna array to provide maximal directionality (with noexplicit combiner). The same two modules, that is, the antenna array 310and the antenna array with/without antenna combiner 320, may becorrespondingly utilized in a reception operation for the transceiver300. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the operation of theantenna array with/without antenna combiner 320 may be managed orprogrammed by the network management engine 216.

The down-converters 330 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to translate a radiofrequency (RF) received from the antenna array 310 to anintermediate-frequency (IF) signal during reception. The up-converters340 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to translate an intermediate-frequency (IF) signal of acorresponding baseband signal supplied from the central basebandprocessor 214, for example to a RF signal during transmission.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, transceiver modules such asthe transceiver 300 may be operable to perform a carrier frequencyconversion or translation from F_IF (intermediate frequency) to F_RF(radio frequency) and vice versa. As an example, the network managementengine 216 may select F_IF in the range of a few GHz, and may selectF_RF in the range of 60 GHz, respectively. In a special case theinput/output frequency of the transceiver 300 may be the same, that is,no frequency up-conversion is performed. In this special case thetransceiver 300 may only perform signal amplification and feeding ofsignals into the antenna array 310.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a startopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 4, there is shown a central processor 400 that is connected to acollection of transceivers 410 a through 410N. As shown, the collectionof transceivers 410 a through 410N are connected to the centralprocessor 400 in a star topology with direct separate cables, forexample, from the central processor 400 to each of the collection oftransceivers 410 a through 410N.

The central processor 400 comprises a baseband processor 420, a networkmanagement engine 430, down-converters 440, up-converters 446, amultiplxer 450 and a memory 460. The baseband processor 420 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operableto provide MODEM functionality. In this regard, the central processor400 may be operable to perform various baseband digital processing suchas, for example, MIMO, OFDM, channel coding, HARQ, channel estimationand equalization, Timing/Carrier recovery and synchronization. Thenetwork management engine 430 may operate in substantially the samemanner as the network management engine 218 in FIG. 2. Duringtransmission, a baseband signal supplied from the baseband processor 420may be translated into an intermediate-frequency (IF) signal. Theup-converters 446 may further translate the IF signal to a finalradio-frequency (RF) and send it over the air through an antenna arraysuch as the antenna array 411 a. For reception, the transceiver 410 a,for example, may pass a received RF signal from the antenna array 411 ato the down-converters 440.

The down-converters 440 may translate the RF signal into an IF signal.The IF signal may further be translated to a baseband signal to thebaseband processor 420, for example. The multiplxer 450 may beresponsible for multiplexing receive/transmit signals utilizing eithertime-division-multiplexing or frequency-domain-multiplexing. The memory460 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code thatmay be operable to store information such as executable instructions anddata that may be utilized by the baseband processor 420 and/or otherassociated component units such as the network management engine 430.The memory 360 may comprise RAM, ROM, low latency nonvolatile memorysuch as, for example, flash memory and/or other suitable electronic datastorage.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a different control channelbetween the baseband processer 420 and each of the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be utilized for configuring andmanaging corresponding transceivers. As shown, control channels 412 athrough 412N are utilized for configuring and managing the transceivers410 a through 410N, respectively. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may operatein various modes such as, for example, spatial diversity mode, frequencydiversity mode, multiplexing mode and multiple-input-multiple-output(MIMO) mode. In addition, the distributed transceivers 410 a through410N may be configured to switch between spatial diversity mode,frequency diversity mode, multiplexing mode andmultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) mode based on correspondingpropagation environment conditions, link quality, device capabilities,device locations, usage of resources, resource availability, targetthroughput, application QoS requirements.

In some embodiments of the invention, the interface between the basebandprocessor 420 and the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may bedifferent than an analog IF connection. In an exemplary case, thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may compriseanalog-to-digital-converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog-converters(DACs). In this case, a transceiver such as the distributed transceiver410 a may receive digital bits from the baseband processors 420 througha digital link and use its internal DAC to generate an analog waveformand then to perform the frequency up-conversion and beamforming stepsfor transmission. Similarly, a transceiver such as the distributedtransceiver 410 a may receive an RF waveform, down-convert it, and thenuse its internal ADC to digitize the waveform and send the digital bitsover a digital connection/cable to the baseband processor 420. In otherembodiments of the invention, the distributed transceivers 410 a through410N may comprise multiple digital processing blocks or units. In thiscase, a portion of processing within the baseband processor 420 may bemoved (in terms of partitioning) to inside the transceivers boundary. Inthe above embodiments of the invention, one or more digital connectionsor interfaces between the baseband processor 420 and the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be implemented or deployed. Thedigital connections/interfaces may comprise Ethernet and various memorybus protocols.

In spatial diversity mode, the central baseband processing 420 may beoperable to utilize the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N toestablish a spatial diversity link with intended end user device such asthe end-user application device 220. For example, only a portion of thedistributed transceivers 410 a through 410N that may have strongpropagation channel responses are activated and other transceivers areswitched off for power saving. In another example, the distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N may be arranged such that the masterapplication device 210 (the transmitter) with available LOS towards theend-user device 220 (the receiver) may be configured to directly beamtowards the receiver. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, eachactive distributed transceiver may communicate data streams utilizingthe same final carrier frequency.

In frequency diversity mode, the central baseband processing 420 maymanage the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N similar tospatial diversity mode except that each active distributed transceivermay utilize a different final carrier frequency if such frequencyspectrum channel is available. In multiplexing mode, the centralbaseband processing 420 may manage the distributed transceivers 410 athrough 410N in such a way that different streams of data may betransmitted through different sets of the distributed transceivers 410 athrough 410N. For example, in multiplexing mode, different distributedtransceivers of the distributed transceivers 410 a through 410N may bedynamically programmed such that each transceiver's maximum pattern gainmay be pointing to a different direction or reflector. As theenvironment changes (and hence location of reflectors and end user unitchange), the antenna pattern of the distributed transceivers 410 athrough 410N may be re-adjusted. In MIMO mode, the central basebandprocessing 420 may manage the distributed transceivers 410 a through410N in such a way that different streams of data may be transmittedthrough different sets of the distributed transceivers 410 a through410N to a single receiver device such as the end-user application device220. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the central basebandprocessor 420 may enable transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission suchthat each transmit data stream may be concurrently transmitted in thesame RF band over the full collection of distributed transceivers 410 athrough 41N to the single end-user application device 220.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary master device with acollection of distributed transceivers that are implemented in a ringtopology, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown,the collection of transceivers 410 a through 410N may be connected tothe central processor 400 in a ring topology with a single direct cablefrom the central processor 400 to each of the collection of transceivers410 a through 410N. In this regard, a single control channel between thebaseband processer 420 and each of the distributed transceivers 410 athrough 410N may be utilized for configuring the entire distributedtransceivers 410 a through 410N as needed. In an exemplary embodiment ofthe invention, in MIMO mode, the central baseband processor 420 mayenable transmit beamforming for MIMO transmission such that eachtransmit data stream may be concurrently transmitted in the same RF bandover the full collection of distributed transceivers 410 a through 41Nto the single end-user application device 220.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary transceiver module with aconfigurable phased antenna array, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. As shown a transceiver 600 that comprises an antennaarray 610, a switcher 620, down-converters 630, up-converters 640, and amultiplexer 650.

In an exemplary operation, the antenna array 610 may be a configurablephased antenna array. In this regard, the configurable phased antennaarray 610 may have various orientations. Accordingly, the configurablephased antenna array 610 may be utilized to generate a steerable beampattern to maximize coverage. In an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, the switcher 620 may be configured to switch on only thetransceivers that have strong propagation channel responses and areactivated. Other transceivers may be switched off for power saving. Forexample, in some instances, the system identifies that transceiver 611 aof the configurable phased antenna array 610 has the best LOS link tothe receiver end (due to blocking objects in the room or nature ofreflectors in the room). In this case, only the transceiver 611 a may beswitched on by the switcher 620 to transmit data to the receiver end andall other transceivers 611 b through 711N of the configurable phasedantenna array 710 are switched off for power saving.

Beam patterns of the transceiver 611 a may be selected or adjusted invarious ways such as, for example, by beam pattern hopping, bycorrelating beam patterns or configurations with the location of thetransceiver 611 a, and/or by minimizing the power consumption. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, in MIMO mode, transmit signals ina baseband may be provided from the central baseband processor 214 byencoding corresponding baseband data streams utilizing space-time codingor space-time-frequency coding. The central baseband processor 214 mayinitially convert the transmit signals in the baseband into differentcorresponding IF frequency bands. The transmit signals in the differentcorresponding IF bands may be fed into the up-converters 640. Theup-converters 640 may convert the transmit signals in the differentcorresponding IF bands to the antenna array 610 in the same RF band fortransmission over the air. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,the antennas 611 a-611N of the antenna array 610 may be arranged atdifferent directions or orientations and may be weighted utilizingdifferent set of coefficients w₁, w₂, . . . , w_(N) based oncorresponding communication environment information. The centralbaseband processor 214 may perform transmit beamforming such that eachof the transmit signals in the same RF band may be concurrentlytransmitted at different directions over the antennas 611 a-611N to thesingle end-user application device 220.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating exemplary steps utilized by atransmitting device for transmit beamforming in MIMO transmission to onereceiving device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 7, in step 702, a transmitting device such as themaster application device 210 in the communication network 100 utilizesa collection of distributed transceivers 212 a through 212 e eachequipped with an antenna array for MIMO transmission. The operation ofthe entire collection of transceivers in the communication network 100may be managed and controlled by a network management engine such as thenetwork management engine 216.

The exemplary steps start with step 704, where the central basebandprocessor 214, which serves or manages the collection of distributedtransceivers 212 a-121 e of the transmitting device (the masterapplication device 210), may be operable to generate a plurality of datastreams at baseband for transmission to an intended receiving devicesuch as the end-user application device 220 in the communication network100. In step 706, the central baseband processor 214 may performdiversity coding such as, for example, space-time coding (STC) orspace-time-frequency coding (STFC) over the generated data streams inthe baseband. In step 708, the central baseband processor 214 mayconvert the resulting coded data streams into different corresponding IFfrequency bands to be fed into the up-converters 446, for example. Theup-converters 446 may convert the coded data streams in the differentcorresponding IF bands into the same RF band for transmission over theair.

In step 710, it may be determined whether the master application device210 comprises sufficient number of transceivers and antenna beamformersto support the MIMO transmission of the coded data streams in thedifferent corresponding IF bands. In instances where the masterapplication device 210 does not comprise sufficient number oftransceivers and antenna beamformers for the MIMO transmission of thecoded data streams in the different corresponding IF bands, then in step712, the network management engine 216 may identify one or moreauxiliary devices that may provide desired communication capacities suchas, for example, a number of transceivers and antenna beamformersavailable to the master application device 210 for sharing. In step 714,the master application device 210 may negotiate via the networkmanagement engine 216 with each of the auxiliary devices such as theend-user application device 250 for sharing the available number oftransceivers and antenna beamformers of the end-user application device250.

In step 716, the network management engine 216 may determine beampatterns and antenna orientations of associated antennas or antennaarrays of the entire collection of available transceivers for the masterapplication device 210 (the transmitting device) for transmission to theend-user application device 220 based on corresponding communicationenvironment information. The collection of available transceiversavailable for the master application device 210 comprises both thedistributed transceivers 212 a-121 e of the master application device210 and the auxiliary transceivers of the identified auxiliary devices.In step 718, the master application device 210 may be enabled toconcurrently transmit each of the coded data streams to the end-userapplication device 220 in the same RF band over the full collection ofthe available transceivers for the master application device 210 throughthe associated antenna arrays with the determined beam patterns andantenna orientations. The exemplary steps may continue in step 724,where the network management engine 216 may monitor and collectcorresponding communication environment information such as, forexample, propagation environment conditions, link quality, devicecapabilities, device locations, target throughput, and/or applicationQoS requirements from the end-user application device 220. The exemplarysteps may return to step 710.

In step 710, in instances where the master application device 210comprises a sufficient number of transceivers and antenna beamformersfor the MIMO transmission of the coded data streams in the differentcorresponding IF bands, the exemplary steps may continue in step 720,where the network management engine 216 may determine beam patterns andantenna orientations for associated antenna arrays of the distributedtransceivers of the master application device 210 for transmission tothe end-user application device 220 based on corresponding communicationenvironment information. In step 724, the master application device 210may be enabled to concurrently transmit each of the coded data streamsin the same RF band to the end-user application device 220 over the fullcollection of the distributed transceivers of the master applicationdevice 210 through the associated antenna arrays with the correspondingdetermined beam patterns and antenna orientations. The exemplary stepscontinue in step 724.

Aspects of a method and system for MIMO transmission in a distributedtransceiver network are provided. In accordance with various exemplaryembodiments of the invention, as described with respect to FIG. 1through FIG. 7, a transmitting device such as the master applicationdevice 210 may comprise a plurality of distributed transceivers 212a-212 e, the central baseband processor 214 and the network managementengine 216. For transmission, the central baseband processor 214 may beoperable to generate a plurality of data streams at baseband such as atcellular baseband. The central baseband processor 214 may performdiversity coding such as, for example, space-time coding orspace-time-frequency coding over the generated data streams in thebaseband.

The master application device 210 may be enabled to concurrentlytransmit each of the resulting coded streams in a same radio frequencyband over the plurality of distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e throughassociated antennas to a receiving device such as the end-userapplication device 220. The central baseband processor 214 may convertthe coded data streams in the baseband into different corresponding IFbands to be fed into the up-converters 640, for example. Theup-converters 640 may further convert the coded data streams in thedifferent corresponding IF bands into the same radio frequency band fortransmission over the air. The network management engine 216 maydetermine corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations in thesame radio frequency band for the associated antennas of the pluralityof distributed transceivers 212 a-212 e of the master application device210.

The master application device 210 may be enabled to concurrentlytransmit each of the coded streams in the same radio frequency band tothe end-user application device 220 over the plurality of distributedtransceivers 212 a-212 e through associated antennas with the determinedcorresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations. In some instances,the master application device 210 does not comprise sufficient number oftransceivers and antenna beamformers to support the MIMO transmission ofthe coded data streams. In this regard, the network management engine216 may identify one or more auxiliary devices that may provide thedesired number of transceivers and antenna beamformers available forsharing. The master application device 210 may negotiate, via thenetwork management engine 216, with each of the identified auxiliarydevices such as the end-user application device 250 for sharing theavailable number of transceivers and antenna beamformers of the end-userapplication device 250. The network management engine 216 may determinecorresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations for associatedantennas of the transceivers available for the master application device210. The master application device 210 may be enabled to concurrentlytransmit each of the coded data streams to the end-user applicationdevice 220 in the same radio frequency band over the full collection ofthe available transceivers for the master application device 210 throughthe associated antennas with the determined corresponding beam patternsand antenna orientations. The network management engine 216 may monitorand collect corresponding communication environment information duringthe concurrent transmission.

In some embodiments of the invention, the antenna elements within thedistributed transceiver 222-224 may be used as independent antennaelements for MIMO implementation. In this case, all the antenna elements222 a-222 m and 224 a-224 n may be considered as independent antennasavailable for MIMO implementation and processing by the basebandprocessor 226. This embodiment may enable a super-MIMO configurationthat offers a larger MIMO size (e.g., equal to sum of number of antennasin all the transceivers). Subsequently, MIMO techniques such asspace-time coding (STC), beamforming, or space-time-frequency coding(STFC) may be applied to the larger MIMO dimensions. In this regard,multiple data streams may be needed to be transported to eachtransceiver module to represent the MIMO coded data streams assigned toeach antenna within the transceiver. This may be supported by usingmultiple cables between the baseband processor 226 and each of thetransceivers or using a single cable and multiplexing different datastreams over different IF frequencies.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for MIMOtransmission in a distributed transceiver network.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing signals, the methodcomprising: in a transmitting device that comprises a plurality ofdistributed transceivers, a central baseband processor and a networkmanagement engine: generating data streams at baseband by said centralbaseband processor; diversity coding said data streams in said basebandby said central baseband processor; and concurrently transmitting eachresulting coded streams in a same radio frequency band over saidplurality of distributed transceivers through associated antennas to areceiving device.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein saiddiversity coding comprises space-time coding and space-time-frequencycoding.
 3. The method according to claim 2, comprising converting saidcoded streams in said baseband to different corresponding intermediatefrequency bands.
 4. The method according to claim 3, comprisingconverting said coded streams in said different correspondingintermediate frequency bands into said same radio frequency band.
 5. Themethod according to claim 4, comprising determining by said networkmanagement engine, corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientationsin said same radio frequency band for said associated antennas of saidplurality of distributed transceivers of said transmitting device. 6.The method according to claim 5, comprising concurrently transmittingeach of said coded streams in said same radio frequency band to saidreceiving device over said plurality of distributed transceivers of saidtransmitting device through said associated antennas with saiddetermined corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations.
 7. Themethod according to claim 4, comprising identifying by said networkmanagement engine, one or more auxiliary devices that provide one ormore auxiliary transceivers and associated antennas to said transmittingdevice for said concurrently transmitting.
 8. The method according toclaim 7, comprising determining by said network management engine,corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations in said same radiofrequency band for said: associated antennas of said plurality ofdistributed transceivers of said transmitting device; and associatedantenna arrays of said one or more auxiliary transceivers of said one ormore auxiliary devices.
 9. The method according to claim 8, comprisingconcurrently transmitting each of said coded streams in said same radiofrequency band to said receiving device over said plurality ofdistributed transceivers of said transmitting device and said one ormore auxiliary transceivers of said one or more auxiliary devicesutilizing said determined corresponding beam patterns and antennaorientations.
 10. The method according to claim 1, comprising monitoringand collecting by said network management engine, communicationenvironment information corresponding to said concurrent transmission.11. A system for processing signals, the system comprising: atransmitting device that comprises a plurality of distributedtransceivers, a central baseband processor and a network managementengine, said transmitting device being operable to: generate datastreams at baseband by said central baseband processor; diversity codesaid data streams in said baseband by said central baseband processor;and concurrently transmit each resulting coded streams in a same radiofrequency band over said plurality of distributed transceivers throughassociated antennas to a receiving device.
 12. The system according toclaim 11, wherein said diversity coding comprises space-time coding andspace-time-frequency coding.
 13. The system according to claim 12,wherein said transmitting device converts said coded streams in saidbaseband to different corresponding intermediate frequency bands. 14.The system according to claim 13, wherein said transmitting deviceconverts said coded streams in said different corresponding intermediatefrequency bands into said same radio frequency band.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 14, wherein said network management engine determinescorresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations in said same radiofrequency band for said associated antennas of said plurality ofdistributed transceivers of said transmitting device.
 16. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein said transmitting device concurrentlytransmits each of said coded streams in said same radio frequency bandto said receiving device over said plurality of distributed transceiversof said transmitting device through said associated antennas with saiddetermined corresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations.
 17. Thesystem according to claim 14, wherein said network management engineidentifies one or more auxiliary devices that provide one or moreauxiliary transceivers and associated antennas to said transmittingdevice for said concurrently transmitting.
 18. The system according toclaim 17, wherein said network management engine determinescorresponding beam patterns and antenna orientations in said same radiofrequency band for said: associated antennas of said plurality ofdistributed transceivers of said transmitting device; and associatedantenna arrays of said one or more auxiliary transceivers of said one ormore auxiliary devices.
 19. The system according to claim 18, whereinsaid device concurrently transmits each of said coded streams in saidsame radio frequency band to said receiving device over said pluralityof distributed transceivers of said transmitting device and said one ormore auxiliary transceivers of said one or more auxiliary devicesutilizing said determined corresponding beam patterns and antennaorientations.
 20. The system according to claim 11, wherein said networkmanagement engine monitors and collects communication environmentinformation corresponding to said concurrent transmission.